New case protects your calls and your phone

Our personal privacy is eroding. We are all used to being watched. Think about it. Security cameras record us in parking lots. Through out our day we constantly leave our digital footprint through each of our purchases, calls, bank transactions and texts.

But how would you feel if you learned that learn the most intrusive device of all is the smartphone in your hand?

A recent Kaspersky study found that mobile hacking attacks increases by over 400 percent compared to the previous year. Smartphone usage has increased almost 400 percent since December 2010. People now spend as much as 60 percent of their online screen time on their mobile devices, both smartphone and tablets, versus desktop devices.

All those smartphones present a tempting target for hackers. Now San Antonio-based Vysk is launching its QS1 Enterprise Solution for Mobile Security. The QS1 is a smartphone case for the iPhone 6 and 6s (as well as the iPhone 5 and 5S) that will encrypt all your voice calls so you no longer have to worry about electronic eavesdropping or hackers listening in.

This latest technology will be unveiled at 2 p.m. Wednesday, 24 Feb. at the Barcelona Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry.

“Privacy just got a name – Vysk. This new technology really will address one of the biggest concerns people have about smartphones – privacy. Now people will be able to talk to anyone, anywhere without the fear of being recorded or otherwise have your communications listened to,” said Vysk co-founder and CEO Victor Cocchia.

Malware can hijack a smartphone’s microphone, speaker and camera, allowing identity thieves and other hackers to record a person’s private communications before they are encrypted.

Vysk holds over a dozen patents related to the QS and their unique combination of hardware and software provides true end-to-end vocal encryption. Additionally, the QS1 smartphone case protects a person’s photos, text messages and voice calls activated manually, ensuring malware does not interfere.

Cocchia said new malware is being created constantly, literally millions of programs every month. That means relying solely upon software is virtually impossible, hence the QS1’s combination of hardware and software.

The QS1 “Lockdown Mode” is the most secure way to communicate. It uses the Vysk’s secure apps that encrypt calls, text messages and media over Vysk’s network for a US$12.99 monthly subscription fee. Lockdown Mode also includes a jamming system for all four microphones, a dedicated encryption processor for secure calls and two mechanical camera shutters.

Cocchia said such calls are never recorded and metadata such as call history is never stored. An untraceable number can be generated for calls to non-subscribers.

“Almost three-quarters of all companies give smartphones at least some employees. Yet the list of data hacked companies in the past two years is extensive, including Target, Home Depot, JPMorgan, T-Mobile and even governments and healthcare providers,” Cocchia said.

“The only way corporations and governments are going to protect their future and ours is by keeping their secrets safe. The QS1 does just that, without changing your habits or avoiding downloading your favorite apps,” he said.

Cocchia developed the hardware-software security concept after needing to talk with a colleague regarding a proprietary project they were developing. Neither was comfortable talking about such a sensitive subject on their smartphones, so he began working on a solution that became the QS1.

“I wanted to empower people so they wouldn’t be afraid to use their favorite mobile devices and could keep themselves and their data protected,” Cocchia said.

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